PRIVILEGED ABUSE.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2103, 30 September 1875, Page 3

PRIVILEGED ABUSE.

The Tiinaru Herald deals with a clerical correspondent in the following terms: —

- ", We need scarcely tell our readers that Mi* Gillies is a pugnacious clergyman. His marvellous facility for calling names and. his utter want of logic; his gorgeous display of odium theologicum; proclaim his calling only too distinctly. We know no professors of the ignoble art of abuse who, can approach angry parsons when they take to writing to newspapers. Poor fellows, we cannot but pity, them. They are compelled by their black coats to behave like lambs, no matter how violent, passionate, or quarrelsome they may be by nature. They have things a good deal their own way in the pulpit it is true; but even there they cannot really enjoy themselves ; they cannot call people liars and cowards in so many words; and modern usages demand that they shall n^ake their strictures so general as to be practically inoffensive. No, the wrathful parson is in a most unfortunate position. When,, however, he plunges into printer's ink, he makes up for his previous restraint and lets out gloriously. He turns language upside down, and begins with what to an ordinary man would be the ultimate resource. When a mere Christian, for example, would say ' I differ from you,' the scribbling parson says 'It ia a gross falsehood. If "he considers an argument unfair, he calls it a dastardly attack. A remark which anybody else would say .' needs explanation,' he says is 'an outrage on common decency.' A passage which might bear the interpretation of being somewhat austere, he stigmatises as a piece of literary savageism. This sort of person is great at' stigmatising,' 'challenging,' and similar peppery business; and positively revels in imputing the worst motive for everything. It is also a common habit with him to demand that a newspaper writer shall' come forth from his concealment;' as if a journalist lived always up the chimney, or in the water-butt, or behind the pump, and played a never-ending game of hide md seek with the public at large. With regard to a general expression df o.urs as to-' the, ' failure." of the missionaries to. achieve -the pacification of the natives, Mr' Gillie! says-r-1 take the liberty of - characterising it as a gross falsehood.' We

fully agree with Mr Gillies ; he does take j

a liberty, a most improper and unwarrantable liberty. In reply to this cool request that the author" of our .Note should throw off his anonymity, we may fay that if Mr Gillies were not a clergyman, and we were not somewhat particular on the point of good manners, we should tell the reverend gentleman to put his head in a bag. Finally, we may mention that we consider Mr Gillies' whole letter a most painful piece of presumption and bad taste, and that we only publish it in order to punish him for writing it. Had it come from an excited bullock-driver, or an infuriated washerwoman, we should have thought nothing about it, and should have put it behind the fire in common charity. But coming from a minister of religion, and presumably a man of some education, we feel bound to make a pillory of it for him. The next time he writes to tis he will be good enough to leave out all the cursing and swearing."